﻿MANUAL 
  OF 
  FISH-CULTURE. 
  165 
  

  

  Ten 
  years 
  ago 
  it 
  was 
  said 
  that 
  black 
  bass 
  did 
  not 
  exist 
  in 
  sufficiently 
  

   large 
  numbers 
  to 
  ever 
  become 
  a 
  stajile 
  article 
  of 
  food, 
  but 
  they 
  now 
  

   furnish 
  important 
  additions 
  to 
  the 
  food 
  supply 
  of 
  many 
  thousands 
  of 
  

   people. 
  The 
  annual 
  sales 
  in 
  Kew 
  York 
  are 
  estimated 
  to 
  be 
  at 
  least 
  

   50,000 
  pounds, 
  with 
  an 
  average 
  value 
  of 
  10 
  cents 
  per 
  pound. 
  Possibly 
  

   because 
  of 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  whitefish 
  and 
  lake 
  trout, 
  Chicago 
  does 
  

   not 
  seem 
  to 
  afford 
  as 
  good 
  a 
  market 
  for 
  bass 
  as 
  other 
  large 
  cities. 
  A 
  

   recent 
  estimate 
  places 
  the 
  sales 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  bass 
  handled 
  by 
  wholesale 
  

   dealers 
  of 
  Chicago 
  at 
  15,000 
  pounds, 
  but 
  these 
  figures 
  are 
  probably 
  too 
  

   low. 
  The 
  Illinois 
  fishermen 
  ship 
  nearly 
  50 
  tons 
  of 
  black 
  bass 
  to 
  the 
  

   markets 
  annually, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  reasonable 
  assumption 
  that 
  Chicago 
  con- 
  

   sumes 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  production 
  of 
  the 
  surrounding 
  country. 
  

  

  The 
  States 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  black-bass 
  fishery 
  is 
  most 
  important 
  are 
  

   North 
  Carolina 
  and 
  Ohio; 
  in 
  1890, 
  over 
  400,000 
  j)ounds, 
  valued 
  at 
  

   $20,500, 
  were 
  caught 
  for 
  market 
  in 
  North 
  Carolina; 
  in 
  Ohio, 
  in 
  1894, 
  

   nearly 
  300,000 
  pounds, 
  worth 
  over 
  $22,000, 
  were 
  taken. 
  Other 
  States 
  

   in 
  which 
  there 
  is 
  an 
  annual 
  yield 
  of 
  over 
  100,000 
  pounds 
  are 
  Arkansas, 
  

   Florida, 
  Minnesota, 
  Missouri, 
  and 
  New 
  York, 
  and 
  in 
  about 
  twenty 
  other 
  

   States 
  this 
  fish 
  is 
  of 
  some 
  commercial 
  importance. 
  

  

  The 
  annual 
  catch 
  of 
  crapi^ie 
  for 
  market, 
  according 
  to 
  recent 
  statis- 
  

   tics 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  Fish 
  Commission, 
  is 
  about 
  850,000 
  pounds, 
  

   having 
  a 
  first 
  value 
  of 
  $39,000. 
  The 
  leading 
  States 
  in 
  this 
  fisliery 
  are 
  

   Arkansas, 
  Illinois, 
  Minnesota, 
  Missouri, 
  and 
  Tennessee, 
  the 
  three 
  first 
  

   named 
  ])rodacing 
  more 
  than 
  half 
  the 
  yearly 
  yield. 
  The 
  market 
  value 
  

   of 
  the 
  rock 
  bass 
  is 
  not 
  large. 
  Grapples 
  are 
  generally 
  considered 
  better 
  

   food-fish 
  than 
  the 
  rock 
  bass 
  and 
  enter 
  much 
  more 
  largely 
  into 
  commerce. 
  

   As 
  with 
  black 
  bass, 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  percentage 
  of 
  the 
  catch 
  of 
  crappies, 
  rock 
  

   bass, 
  and 
  suufishes 
  does 
  not 
  reach 
  the 
  markets. 
  

  

  LIMITATIONS 
  OF 
  BASS-CULTURE. 
  

  

  The 
  artificial 
  propagation 
  of 
  black 
  bass, 
  by 
  taking 
  and 
  impregnating 
  

   the 
  eggs, 
  has 
  not 
  been, 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  time, 
  practically 
  successful. 
  

   Unlike 
  the 
  shad 
  and 
  salmon, 
  eggs 
  can 
  only 
  be 
  stripped 
  from 
  the 
  female 
  

   with 
  great 
  difficulty, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  necessary 
  to 
  kill 
  the 
  male 
  to 
  obtain 
  

   the 
  milt. 
  Another 
  obstacle 
  is 
  the 
  difficulty 
  of 
  finding 
  the 
  two 
  sexes 
  

   ready 
  to 
  yield 
  the 
  eggs 
  and 
  milt 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time, 
  even 
  when 
  they 
  are 
  

   taken 
  from 
  over 
  the 
  nests 
  apparently 
  in 
  the 
  act 
  of 
  spawning. 
  Inter- 
  

   ruption 
  or 
  handling 
  seems 
  to 
  prevent 
  the 
  discharge 
  of 
  eggs 
  or 
  milt. 
  

   At 
  Neosho 
  unsuccessful 
  efforts 
  were 
  made 
  daily 
  for 
  several 
  weeks 
  to 
  

   spawn 
  a 
  female 
  black 
  bass 
  in 
  which 
  a 
  part, 
  at 
  least, 
  of 
  the 
  ovaries 
  were 
  

   fully 
  developed. 
  The 
  fish 
  was 
  so 
  near 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  spawning 
  tliat 
  when 
  

   held 
  head 
  downward 
  the 
  eggs 
  could 
  be 
  seen 
  to 
  roll 
  forward 
  toward 
  

   the 
  head, 
  and 
  when 
  reversed 
  to 
  drop 
  in 
  the 
  opposite 
  direction. 
  

  

  Since 
  a 
  way 
  to 
  artificially 
  impregnate 
  the 
  eggs 
  of 
  the 
  bass 
  has 
  not 
  

   yet 
  been 
  discovered, 
  and 
  the 
  handling 
  of 
  eggs 
  with 
  indoor 
  apparatus 
  is 
  

   impossible, 
  it 
  is 
  fortunate 
  that 
  the 
  natural 
  impregnation 
  of 
  these 
  fishes 
  

   reaches 
  a 
  percentage 
  closely 
  approximating 
  that 
  which 
  fish-culturists 
  

  

  